Travel notes - San Antonio de Areco

Last weekend was a long one and we had the Monday off, thanks to it being the 9^th of July, the Argentinean Independence Day. So we decided to use all this free time to undertake a little daytrip on Saturday and drive out to San Antonio de Areco, the famous Gaucho town in the middle of the Pampa northwest of Buenos Aires. Well, famous is perhaps too strong a word but it is recommended in all the travel guides as one of the must-sees in the closer vicinity of Buenos Aires, so we decided to check it out.

We had picked the perfect day, with blue skies and sunny, but crisp 14 degrees to get out of Buenos Aires and pass the day in the country. Traffic wasn’t so bad so it took us only an hour to drive the 100 km to San Antonio. Since the town with its 23000 inhabitants is quite straightforward, we quickly found the main square – unlike any other Argentinean town or village we have seen so far not named Plaza 25 de Mayo or 9 de Julio but Ruiz de Arellano -, parked there and started exploring the cobbled colonial streets around the centre.

San Antonio de Areco is known for being called the “prettiest town in the Pampas” and the Día de la Tradición celebrations in November when the whole town is the venue for horse races, Gaucho parades, folk dancing and a craft fair. All year around it hosts numerous stores and workshops where the best silversmiths and saddlers in the country sell their wares and show off their craftsmanship. Most objects are folkloristic or Gaucho-themed, and include mate paraphernalia, silver Gaucho knives, horse gear and silver jewellery with Gaucho designs.

Pottering around the little shops we didn’t find any traditional souvenirs but went for the culinary merchandise and bought a little cheese and some ham. After having sampled the goods in the picturesque little shop we got hungry and went for a nice lunch in the La Esquina de Merti restaurant at the main square. Should you ever get to San Antonio, eat there and go for the Spanish tortilla with Chorizo – and don’t order a big main course because it’s not only delicious but quite big!

After lunch we strolled down to the river, first of all to work off some of the food but also to check out the Museo Gauchesco Ricardo Güiraldes, an open-air museum depicting village life in the Pampas. The whole setup is not very elaborate but the buildings show how a flourmill, a tavern, a colonial-style chapel and a ranch house had looked like in earlier days. Highlight of the ranch house were two rooms dedicated to Ricardo Güiraldes, a descendant of the town’s founding father and author of the Gaucho novel Don Segundo Sombra who inspired the museum’s name. I use the word “highlight” in the widest sense since those two rooms contained mainly glass cases with different editions of the book, some manuscript pages and pictures of the writer. That’s what I call being proud of the local literati.

On our way to the museum and back into town we had to cross Puente Viejo, an old bridge that used to be a toll crossing and is now listed amongst the touristic sights of San Antonio de Areco. Well, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed by I guess that is a question of taste and expectations.

In general, I can recommend driving out to San Antonio de Areco if you feel like getting away from hectic and loud Buenos Aires for a day, and we might be back in summer to enjoy the tranquillity. Perhaps we will even go there for the Gaucho festival in November – if so I will write about it in this blog.